ISIS TO RELEASE FIVE LIVE ALBUMS; BADWOLF SAYS HE CAME

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 152011
 

We just got an e-mail from NCS writer BadWolf about the news that’s the subject of this post. This may be too much information, but he says he got so excited that it made him come. I suspect there are other Isis fans who visit this site. If this news also makes any of you ladies and gents come, too, then I’d say our work here is done for the day. I myself did not come. I did get some wood, but it may have been because the cat picked that moment to rearrange his sleeping position in my lap.

Where was I? Oh yeah, five live albums from Isis. Here’s the deal: Isis has been disbanded for just under a year, but they’re saying good-bye in grand fashion by announcing that five live recordings from their back-catalogue will be released digitally this summer. Four are of single shows and a fifth is a compilation. They will be released every two weeks between May 31 and July 26.

Individually the albums are priced at $5.99, while the whole set is $20. Pre-order packages are supposed to start selling soon at this location.

As for what the former members of Isis are up to these days, we’ve got a bit more news after the jump. Continue reading »

SHORT, BUT SWEET: PRISTINA AND PANDEMONIUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  20 Responses »
May 152011
 

Since the end of last week we’ve accumulated some small collections of new music that we think are very sweet. In a way, they’re all teasers for longer and grander things to come from some very good bands. Consider us well and truly teased. But this isn’t like getting all hot and bothered with a chick in the backseat of your car and then being denied the payoff. No, this is a good kind of tease.

Late last week we featured the first of these brief releases — a three-song EP from Swedish black-metal behemoths, Marduk. Today, we’ve got two more: New music from Pristina (U.S.) and Pandemonium (Poland).

PRISTINA

We were bowled over by this Connectuicut band’s 2010 debut album, The Drought (Ov Salt and Sorrow), and we weren’t the only ones. It has received plenty of attention and critical praise.  You can see our review of the album here, and our revealing interview of Pristina mainman Brendan Duff by using this link.

We heard from Brendan a few days ago with some very welcome news. First, Pristina has recorded three new songs that will only be made available as a limited edition EP at the band’s live shows, though one of them is available for streaming now (we’ll get to that).  Second, Pristina have finished writing their next album and plan to begin recording it shortly.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SUPPORT

 Concert Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 142011
 

Last night I went to see and hear live metal with NCS co-founder IntoTheDarkness and another friend. The main reason for going was to catch King Conquer and Idols, but we had tunsa fun listening to other bands on the bill, too. Especially for a Friday night, the crowd at Studio Seven was stunningly sparse. Fortunately, that didn’t stop the bands from raging as if the venue were packed to no-breathing-room capacity.

My fucking day job is compelling me to work today, so I don’t have time for a proper review of the concert. But I thought it would be, well — ungrateful — for me to say nothing at all. So, what do you do when you think a band has killed it on stage? What do you do when you get some fucking joy out of listening to a band’s music? What you should do (and I’m really lecturing myself here, not you) is to show some respect, to show some support, and not to be bashful about it even when you’re in the company of people who frown on the genre.

And yes, the genre in this instance happens to be deathcore. We don’t write about bands in that genre very often at this site, though last November we did review King Conquer’s debut album in glowing terms (here) and we also included one of their tracks on our list of  2010’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs (here). I also think most of our readers aren’t into this kind of metal. But it’s like any other genre — there’s bad music in it and there’s good. Particularly when you hear the good bands throw themselves into a live performance heart and soul, then what you should do — what I’m doing — is to be honest about your admiration and show some fucking support. (more after the jump, including music . . .) Continue reading »

THE APOCRYPHAL ORDER

 Album Reviews  12 Responses »
May 142011
 


NCS contributor Israel Flanders is back with another review — a new EP from a band of islanders (I like them already).

Ever heard of the Faroe Islands?  Neither had I, but now I want to know what they’re all about.  The band in question is a Death/Thrash band from these Faroe Islands called The Apocryphal Order and I’m reviewing their debut self-titled EP.

These guys have been eating their meat and potatoes because this album is full of furious thrash and death metal riffing, every drum beat you could possibly imagine, tempo changes, brutal hoarse vocals, but the thing that stands out about this band is their songwriting prowess.  The song structures are very progressive in nature, yet never feel like they are being forced or done for the sake of doing so.  I can’t compare these guys to anything because I honestly think they have their own sound working in their favor, though if I had to try: imagine a love child of Death, Testament, Forbidden, and Deicide.  Crazy combo right?

The highlight of this album for sure is the riffing.  The guitar work is just all over the place, stylistically speaking, as well as never short-handed on the technical end.  Every single one of these songs is full of riffs that induce headbanging fury, not only because of the technical intricacies at work here, but also because these dudes play their music with the kind of utterly indisputable conviction that beats you into submission repeatedly. (more after the jump, including some songs to hear . . . ) Continue reading »

PORTAL ON NPR (?!?!)

 Uncategorized  12 Responses »
May 132011
 

NPR (formerly known as National Public Radio) is a non-profit media organization that syndicates radio programming to almost 800 radio stations around the U.S. It gets about 10% of its funding from the U.S. government through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which makes it a perennial whipping boy for conservative politicians who want to cut or eliminate its government funding — or simply compel NPR to become as bland as possible.

NPR has a web presence, too, and today they just did something that undoubtedly will stir its opponents into a fine froth: They posted a video of the Australian band Portal playing a song at last year’s Maryland Deathfest. The clip comes from a limited edition version of the Maryland Deathfest:The Movie II DVD, which is now available for pre-order from Handshake Inc. with a larger release planned for August.

Portal is a band about which I have mixed feelings. Like the NPR writer who posted about the video, I found the Portal’s 2009 album Swarth to be a horrifying, but perversely riveting listening experience. I like extreme music quite a bit, as you can possibly tell, but Swarth isn’t an album I’ve listened to repeatedly. I’m glad it exists, I dig it, but it’s punishing to hear.

Now, as for that video clip, it’s fucking awesome — the music is still horrifying, but watching these hooded and masked ghouls inflicting it live was cool.  Or, at least I thought so. I have a feeling NPR’s political opponents won’t be so fucking appreciative.  (more after the jump, including that video . . .) Continue reading »

SHORT, BUT SWEET: MARDUK’S “IRON DAWN”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 132011
 

Since the end of last week we’ve accumulated some small collections of new music that we think are very sweet. In a way, they’re all teasers for longer and grander things to come from some very good bands. Consider us well and truly teased. But this isn’t like getting all hot and bothered with a chick in the backseat of your car and then being denied the payoff. No, this is a good kind of tease.

By the way, I’m so fucking old I don’t even know if dudes and chicks use the backseats of cars as a venue for getting hot and bothered any more. But the no-payoff part? I’m damned sure that’s still happening.

Where was I? Oh yeah, brief offerings of new music from some killer bands. Today, we’re featuring one of them — Sweden’s Marduk (Sweden) — and over the weekend we’ll have some more. If you’re looking for pretty music, I’m afraid you’ll have to keep looking. If you want music that’s dark, powerful, and . . . well . . . skull-fucking, then you’ve come to the right place. First up, Marduk.

One of the true behemoth’s of Scandinavian black metal, Marduk are releasing a new EP called Iron Dawn. Regain Records will release the EP on May 27 at The Maryland Deathfest, where Marduk will be making an appearance. The EP will also be available at six other North American shows that Marduk will be playing in May and June (the Seven Bowls of Wrath Tour) , and then there’ll be a worldwide release of the EP on May 30.

Marduk is also working on a full-length album projected for release sometime in early 2012, but according to the press notice we received, the EP “differs from the concept that is being created” for that album. This EP is anything but a tossed-off gap-filler between full releases. It’s riveting music from start to finish.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE BEST METAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR (AND SECOND PLACE IS SO FAR BACK YOU CAN’T SEE IT)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
May 132011
 

I had plans for today’s posts. Really, I did. And then a few things happened last night that just blew them right outta my head. This happens often, so I’m not beating myself up about it. It’s just part of the price you pay when you have an impulsively enthusiastic personality — planning just becomes a fucking waste of time.

So, one of the things that happened was catching a blurb about Red Fang‘s new video on Blabbermouth. I skim through lots of shit on Blabbermouth without ever pausing, but Red Fang is a name I’d heard enough that I decided this would be a good chance to hear their music, along with moving pictures. I like moving pictures. And oh, I’m SOOOO fuckin’ glad I checked this out! Really and truly.

See, Red Fang is from fuckin’ Portland, which is just spitting distance away from The Emerald City, where our metallic island is located. They came out with an album this year on Relapse called Murder the Mountains. I haven’t heard all of it. In fact, I’ve only heard just the one song in the video. It’s called “Wires”. It’s not as extreme as most of the music we play here at NCS, and it involves, y’know, clean singing. But it’s just a fuckin’ good-time song with some monstrous discordant riffage, some thunderous drumming, and a few massive hooks.

And the video for the song is the shit. It’s like a real-life documentary of what happens when you give a bunch of fun-loving stoner band dudes a $5,000 check (drawn on the “Maidoff Bank”, no less) to make a music video. Now, $5,000 sounds like a lot of money, but you’d be amazed how fast you can spend it when you decide to buy an old station wagon, weld some armor on the front, and start driving through barricades of random shit set up on an aircraft runway.

But it wasn’t the station wagon that put the dent in the video trust fund (that old beater only cost the dudes $685). It was the crash helmets, the stockpile of milk, the mannequins, the pickles, the watermelons, the china cabinets, the Wurlitzer organ, the 15 cases of PBR, the bank of TVs, and lots more. You’ll see. The money goes fast when you get creative about destruction. (the video is after the jump, along with another gut-busting video from RF) Continue reading »

UNEARTH: “EYES OF BLACK”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
May 122011
 

Doesn’t it seem like whenever you see the word “metalcore” in commentary about new music these days, the word “generic” isn’t far away? The metalcore genre has now been with us so long that, at least in the eyes of metal “elitists” (so-called by, uh, fans of metalcore), it has become stagnant, stuck in the template that was hammered out more than a decade ago, recycling its familiar tropes and only rarely venturing into the realm of originality.

To be honest, that “generic” label could be applied to bands and albums in every genre of metal. Is it really more often true of new metalcore releases than, say, new death metal albums? And do we really need a band to break new ground in a familiar genre in order to find the music worthwhile? Or is it sufficient that a band know what they’re doing and do it well, even if there are no surprises in store?

Before “metalcore” became a dirty word in many metal circles, before the genre became saturated with formulaic music, there was Unearth. In our opinion, their albums have stood out from the burgeoning crowd, thanks to their talent for creating memorable hooks and melodies (and breakdowns) while preserving all that hardcore grit and aggression. It doesn’t hurt that they put on a head-busting live show — one of those bands we turn out to see whenever they get close to The Emerald City.

Unearth will be releasing their fifth album (Darkness In the Light) via Metal Blade on July 4, their first in two and a half years. Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) produced it, and KsE’s Justin Foley laid down the drum tracks. Last night, as a warm-up to the release, Unearth uploaded a song called “Eyes of Black” to YouTube. After the jump, we have the song and a few more words . . . Continue reading »

INFESTUS: E x | I s t

 Album Reviews  10 Responses »
May 122011
 

E x | I s t is the new album by Infestus. Infestus began life as a three-man project. After releasing a demo, a debut album, and a split, guitarist Harbarth split, leaving multi-instrumentalist Andras and vocalist Dagon to soldier on. In 2008, that duo created a concept album called Chroniken Des Ablebens, which was released by Debemur Morti Productions. Then, in the summer of 2010, Dagon went his own way, and Andras was left to soldier on, providing the vocals and all the instruments on E x | I s t.

Wait, wait, wait. Someone out there is muttering under his breath. You think I can’t hear you, but I can. You’re mumbling this:

Oh, fuck no, not another one-man black-metal band from Northern Europe. It probably sounds like a vat of sulphuric acid at the boiling point.

Well, stop your damned muttering and stay with me here.

Acidic? Not really. Boiling? Sometimes. Complex, sophisticated, brilliantly composed and performed, often beautiful but always powerful, a totally engrossing and immersive listening experience? Hell yes! One of the best black-metal albums I’ve heard this year? Abso-fuckin-lutely. Continue reading »

NEW SONG FROM THE FACELESS (GROAN)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  27 Responses »
May 112011
 

This post is what we consider a “public service announcement”. In other words, we’re informing you of something that we know many of you will be interested in learning — but not because we’re recommending it to you.

Within approximately the last hour, The Faceless posted a “pre-production preview” of a new song called “The Eidolon Reality”, which will appear on the band’s next album, due sometime this fall. This is not the final mastered version of the track. I’m not sure why the band (or Sumerian) decided to release this instead of waiting until completion of mastering, but they did.

Fans of technical death metal have mixed opinions about The Faceless. We here at NCS are fans of technical death metal, and we liked Akeldema and, to a lesser extent, Planetary Duality. But to be honest, this new song made me cringe. Literally. Cringe.  I even have a hard time developing an opinion about the instrumental work and the growly vocals because the song includes some truly bad clean singing. There. I said it. Go past the jump and listen for yourselves.  Be forewarned, I think the YouTube clip is set to begin playing automatically. Continue reading »

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